DeeDee Anderson has a message for the property owners who plan to evict her from the mobile home park where she has lived for 22 years.

“They can go to pot,” she snaps.

Anderson, 77, tries not to swear, but she finds herself tempted to curse more often since she received an eviction notice last year. Sitting inside her tiny trailer, crammed wall-to-wall with Elvis memorabilia, the grandmother begins to sob.

“Nobody takes my home away from me. I thought this was going to be my retirement home,” she says through tears. “Where am I going to put my trailer? It’s not fair.”

She is one of about 220 residents — many of them seniors — of Burton Avenue Mobile Home Park in Barrie, Ont., set to be evicted July 31. The property manager, Melchior Management, plans to sell the land to make way for 96 townhouses and a three-storey, 20-unit condominium complex.

Most residents of the park, like Anderson, own their homes but lease the land. She spent $19,500 to buy her trailer in 1992 and has spent thousands more on renovations.

Melchior has offered $3,000 to each tenant to cover the cost of moving, and has thrown in an extra $1,500 to those who vacate before May 31. The eviction notices were issued July 31, 2013, giving tenants a year to leave.

Nearby Smith Park in Midland, Ont., hasn’t had an empty lot in three years. Many parks only allow seasonal stays, and worse, most will not take trailers that are more than a decade old or over 40 feet long.

Most of the homes in Burton Avenue Park have been embedded into the ground for more than 30 years. Any attempt to move them will be catastrophic, causing them to buckle and tear apart, residents say.

Even if the homes could be relocated, the moving cost could be between $8,000 and $14,000, says Frank.

“I don’t know what we can do,” he says with a sigh. “We spent our life savings fixing this place up. We thought we would die in here.”

Melchior Management has represented the owners of the trailer park at 196 Burton Ave. since 1997. The company’s actions are legal under the Residential Tenancies Act.

Owner Dino Melchior said he and several property owners represented by his company have been discussing selling the land since 2005 and have only issued month-to-month leases since then.

He said the owners held off for years because they knew selling the land would displace many elderly residents. But the owners, whom Melchior refused to name, bought the property as an investment for their retirement and are now ready to sell, he said.

“At the end of the day, owners do have property rights as well. I can really, very much sympathize with them. But does one say, ‘OK, we keep it a trailer park forever?’” he asked.

Many residents say they feel misled. Scot Smith, a 54-year-old former construction worker on disability, bought his trailer for $26,000 in May 2013, just two months before he learned he was being evicted.

Smith said the application he signed stated he had three to five years before the land would be redeveloped, but that document was never returned to him and he now simply signs a month-to-month lease.

“It’s simple. Rich people don’t care about the poor. They don’t care who they hurt along the way.”

Melchior said Smith’s allegations are untrue and his application stated no such thing. The property owners made the decision to sell in April 2013 and sent a letter to tenants the next month informing them that the land may be redeveloped, he said.

The zoning application for the development has not yet been approved. Melchior appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board in October after the city delayed making a decision within the required timelines.

Local councillor Arif Khan said he sympathizes with the residents’ plight, but the city does not have the jurisdiction to stop landowners from filing for eviction of their tenants.

About 2,700 households in Simcoe County are waiting for affordable housing. Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman has sent a strongly worded letter to higher levels of government requesting immediate funding for new housing, Khan said.

But Khan pointed out the province has directed Barrie to boost density, and this parcel of land is well-suited for redevelopment.

“I’m pretty confident there are very few to nil municipalities with mobile home parks in their official plans, because of the question of highest and best use,” he said.

“I believe the answer has been, province-wide, that multi-units and multi-storeys are the more logical choice.”

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.